Second Chance
by DobbyRocksSocks
Summary: Andromeda's life never turned out the way it was supposed too. Will she get a second chance?


**Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.**

 **Written for;**

 **The Last Ship Sailing Competition** \- Staring at a clock / "You don't mean that" / Smoke / Weakness / Magenta. **Bonus Prompts** \- Grey / Nostalgic / "There's no need to be so rude."

Minor Warning for Suicide/Character Death.

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 **Second Chance**

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The clock ticking quietly was the only thing breaking the silence. She stared at it, willing it to move faster, to speed up time somehow. She was impatient, though she still wasn't convinced of what she was impatient for. As midnight approached, she sat back in her chair, pulling the blanket closer around her. She was being ridiculous, she knew, but she was feeling nostalgic.

The life she'd lived was nothing like the one she'd expected. Memories chased each other through her mind as she thought back to her youth, to her first love, to the man she married.

 _"I would marry you tomorrow if only you'd accept me," he murmured in her ear, his hands tracing nonsensical patterns on her back as they swayed together. The Summer Ball was in full swing and he hadn't left her side for the entirety of it._

 _She could smell traces of smoke on his robe, and she buried her head in the familiar scent._

 _"We're still in school. You're getting a bit ahead of yourself, don't you think?"_

 _"For you? Never."_

That was one of her favourite memories. It was also the last time she'd felt truly happy in the arms of another. He held her tightly, and they'd managed to sneak away shortly before midnight. He made love to her under the moon for the first time that night. She could still feel the gentle kiss he placed on her lips afterwards if she thought hard enough.

 _"I can't marry you," she whispered, tears falling down her cheeks._

 _"You don't mean that," he refuted, desperation evident in his voice. "You can't mean that!"_

 _"I won't support you while you carry out the orders of that madman! He's insane, and I don't want any part of it!"_

That had been true enough, she mused. She'd been utterly serious when she told him that she could no longer associate with him, that she was, in fact, leaving her own family behind as well. He'd denied her words, tried to make her retract them, pleaded and begged her to change her mind. Her heart broke into a million tiny pieces when she turned her back and walked away from him, and she'd never been whole since.

Not to say she'd never been happy.

 _"Congratulations, it's a girl," the healer said, handing over the baby bundled up in a cream blanket. Andromeda looked down at the little girl, her little girl, and smiled._

 _"Are you still sure about the name, Andy?"_

 _She nodded, not looking up at her husband. "Welcome to the world, Nymphadora."_

He'd been so against following her family tradition, but she'd stood firm. It had caused many an argument over the nine months of pregnancy, but she really didn't care. It was happening, and she left him with no other option.

She'd been happiest in the years following, watching her little girl grow up. Sometimes, she would feel a wistfulness that Dora could have had a different father, should have had a different father. Not better, for Ted was a good husband and a good dad, but different.

If her life had gone the way she'd thought it would.

 _The greyness of Azkaban was a contrast to the Auror's magenta robes, and it made her feel ill. When Ted kissed her goodbye at the door, Dora in his arms, she'd felt guilty for deceiving him. It was almost enough to make her decide not to leave, to tell him she'd changed her mind about the 'girls luncheon'._

 _The Auror unlocked the door for her, nodding when she thanked him quietly. The man sitting before her was almost unrecognisable. Gone was the perfectly coifed hair and arrogant smirk that she'd loved so much. Gone was the toned body that had once had her writhing and moaning under the moonlight. Gone was almost everything that she remembered. Even his smell was different, though she was sure the lack of hygiene was more to do with his location than personal choice._

 _Except the eyes._

 _"You look awful," she told him, sitting down in front of him._

 _"There's no need to be so rude," he mock gasped, his lips twisting into an approximation of the smirk she remembered. "What are you doing here, Andromeda? Shouldn't you be playing happy families with the Mudblood?"_

 _"Don't call him that," she snapped. "I..."_

 _"You shouldn't be here. You don't need to be here. I don't want you here," he sneered._

 _She'd never seen him look at her with such hatred, and it shocked her to the core. Standing up, she moved back to the bars where the Auror was waiting to let her out. Turning back to him, she whispered, "I missed you."_

 _She walked away, holding her tears until she was outside. She wouldn't let him see that weakness._

The letter came four months after that visit, but it took her another two to work up the courage to open it. She was fearful of what he had to say, because she knew that he could break her whole world apart without effort.

And he did.

 _I'm sorry, Andromeda. I love you. Don't come back, you don't belong here. Be Happy._

She'd kept the letter, hidden away in her underwear drawer, where she knew her husband would never look. She never opened it again, but she was comforted with the knowledge that it was there.

Shaking her head at herself, she watched the clock hands get closer to midnight. It was almost upon the hour, not long to go. She wondered what would happen, then decided it was best not to know. She'd know soon enough anyway.

When the war started up again, when Ted disappeared, when Dora announced her determination to fight, Andromeda's thoughts had often gone to him. Would he meet her daughter on the battlefield perhaps? Would he recognise her? Would it cause him enough hesitation that Dora would perhaps survive to live another day?

Of course it didn't matter in the end. Dora... Ted... they were both gone, and she'd been left to raise her grandson alone. Well, almost alone. Harry'd helped and she was sure he'd be wonderful for as long as Teddy needed somebody. She took comfort in that thought.

 _"Andromeda?"_

 _"Hello, Harry, is everything okay?"_

 _"Erm... I'm going to be late to pick Teddy up. Only by an hour or so, but I thought I should let you know."_

 _"Of course, dear. Where are you heading? I thought today was your day off."_

 _"There's been another death at Azkaban. I have to go and pick up the body."_

 _"Oh. Is it...?"_

 _"No, not Lucius. It's uh... Rabastan Lestrange. Bellatrix's brother in law. Anyway, I should go, I'll be back in an hour or so to pick Teddy up."_

That had been only a few hours ago. Harry had picked Teddy up an hour later than his usual time as promised, but when he entered the room, Andromeda was almost certain that she could smell the lingering scent of smoke that she associated with Rabastan.

The clock struck midnight, and her eyes drifted shut as consciousness deserted her.

 _"Hello, love."_

 _She smiled, her eyes opening to see him standing in front of her. He was as he'd been when she was happiest._

 _"Rabastan. I missed you."_

 _"I missed you more, baby," he said, holding his hand out for her. She took it, standing and stepping away from both the chair and the shackles that had held her to a life she no longer wanted._

 _"I love you," she whispered against his lips. "I'm sorry it took so long for us to -"_

 _"No apologies. It might have taken a while, but it's finally our time. Let's not waste it."_

 _"How can you waste an eternity?" she asked with a chuckle, resting her head against his chest._

 _"Any moment I'm not kissing you is a waste, Andromeda."_

 _"We should work on that..."_


End file.
